


Perfect Compromise

by Kay_Space_Prince (EliasGrey)



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, Vampires, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-08 04:03:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11073681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EliasGrey/pseuds/Kay_Space_Prince
Summary: The story of how Annie Tartt, a newly-turned werewolf, meets Nia Hawthorne, a vampire who's been around the block a few times and they both come to live in an apartment haunted by its previous occupant (a cranky writer) where they help other new monsters cope with changing. And maybe fall in love.





	Perfect Compromise

The hospital in the early morning was nearly empty, with the people who worked the night shift beginning to pack up and go and the day shift just beginning to arrive. Everywhere was the sense of whiteness, even when the carpets were light blue and red Christmas baubles dangled from the ceilings. The pervasive smell of antiseptic and bleach hit the short young woman like a wall, along with the heat. Leaving the cold outside, she shook the snow out of her short, sandy hair and stamped her practical shoes on the entryway rug.  _ I’ll never get used to winter up north _ , she thought bitterly. The sun was just beginning to rise, casting warm light into the lobby. To the secretary behind the desk of pediatrics, the young woman looked like an angel, looking around nervously and blowing on her hands.

“Over here, dear,” called the secretary, down the length of the front lobby. The woman trotted over, a look of relief spreading across her face. “You must be the new help?” 

“Yes, I’m Annie Tartt.” This was said with a smile and a charmingly subtle southern accent. “I’m to be working with Dr…” She glanced down at a folder in her hand. “Hawthorne?”

“Dr. Hawthorne should be in soon. By the way dear, I’m Mrs. Russell. I manage as the non-ER secretary overnight.” Annie took an immediate liking to the kindly middle-aged woman, and they ended up chatting until Dr. Hawthorne arrived.

“Good morning Mrs. Russell. Is this the new day secretary for pediatrics?” Annie turned in surprise, and was confronted by one of the most gorgeous women she had even seen, with her dark eyes and curly hair wrestled into a tight, low bun, and an olive complexion. “Dr. Nia Hawthorne,” she said extending a hand, “and your name is…?”

“Oh! Annie. Annie Tartt.” Annie nervously took Dr. Hawthorne’s offered hand and gave her best smile. “I’m sorry, I just feel right silly- I assumed you were male!”

Dr. Hawthorne raised an eyebrow. “I trust that won’t be a problem?”

Seeing the doctor’s guard go up, Annie scrambled to reply. “Not at all! Oh! You must be busy, I’ll get out of your hair and get settled in. I’m pleased to meet you though!” Looking slightly bewildered, Dr. Hawthorne murmured a similar sentiment, thanked Mrs. Russell, and then walked confidently into the back, where the examination rooms were.

“Well dear, let’s get you settled in so I can get on home,” sighed Mrs. Russell.

Annie’s first day was quite hectic and exhausting, but very enjoyable. She loved seeing all the children and reassuring the parents with small talk while they waited for a doctor. The strong smells of the hospital still bothered her, unpleasant smells being impossible for her to ignore since her accident. The small woman frowned, a hand coming up to unconsciously rub the vicious scars on her shoulder. 

“-artt. Ms. Tartt!” Annie started, realizing Dr. Hawthorne was leaning on her desk, her dark eyes clueing the secretary in to the fact she had been standing there for some time. “Are you with me? I was wondering if you wanted to run out for lunch with me. I have some things I want to ask you.” Annie blinked repeatedly, trying to process this new information. The gorgeous and intelligent Dr. Hawthorne wanted to talk to Annie? “It’s important, so if you’ll meet me at the front door in 5, that would be great.” With that, the doctor purposefully strode toward the front, her curls bouncing with each step now that they were down. Annie hurriedly pulled on her pea coat, and followed.

The pair ended up in a neat little coffee shop just down the road. It was a warm, cheery place with local art all over the walls for sale and hardwood floors. The scents of cinnamon, coffee, baking bread, and people were nearly overwhelming for Annie, throwing her off for the briefest of moments. It didn’t help that the chatter of the other customers was bouncing of the walls every which way into her ears. They both ordered, and Dr. Hawthorne miraculously found a small table in the back, tucked into a quieter corner and easily overlooked.

“This is one of my favorite places to eat, and not only because the owners give me a discount for a favor I once did them,” the taller woman awkwardly joked. Annie half-smiled in return, and for the next few minutes, they both sat absorbed in their food. Finally, Dr. Hawthorne took a deep breath.

“I need you to not freak out about what I’m going to tell you Annie, can I call you Annie?” Annie nodded slowly, apprehension beginning to build. “You will want to freak out. You will want to run. I’m asking you to wait and hear me out.” She took another deep breath while Annie shifted in her seat, getting increasingly more worried. “... I know you’re a werewolf.”

Annie had stood up before she even had time to really process what was being said, falling into a fight-or-flight stance taught to her long ago by her father. “Annie, please, you’re in no danger, I promise. No human could figure it out, you’re too good at hiding it. Please, let me explain.” Annie forced herself into a stiff standing position, arms at her sides.

“You said no human could figure it out, what does that make you, Dr. Hawthorne?” she asked suspiciously. 

“Please, call me Nia,” replied the doctor with a relieved sigh. “And I’m a vampire. Along with a good friend of mine, I find other vampires, werewolves like yourself, and ghosts, and help them settle into a new life where they can control their… conditions.” Annie slowly sat down, still looking very much like a spooked cat.

“... Should you be around injured children?” Nia actually laughed at that, which irritated and relieved Annie in equal parts. She didn’t think she could handle a vampire in a fight right now.

“I get all the blood I need by drawing extra. Trust me, I’m well fed and no harm to anyone. But if a child has a blood disease, I can usually smell it out, saving a lot of testing. That’s how I knew about you,” Nia finished proudly, very sure of herself. Annie just frowned, no longer afraid, but still very confused.

“That can’t be all you wanted to talk to me about.”

“Are you accusing me of ulterior motives?” Annie was finding it difficult to stay irritated with the woman, her eyes dancing and crinkling at the edges in the most gorgeous smile. Nia had seemed to decide as soon as she revealed her secret that she and Annie were the best of friends. “No, I really wanted to ask if you had a safe place to go next week. During the full moon. Since you just moved here and all.” Annie bit her lip. Her companion had hit the nail on the head- she’d been trying not to think about that ever since she moved.

“Honestly, I was planning on finding some nice, abandoned woods.” She was not at all confident in this plan, and the worry showed on her face.

“Well my and my friend’s place has a basement specifically built for people with your condition. And it just so happens I’m in the market for a new roommate!”

“Can’t you and your friend afford the place?”

“I’m afraid not, it’s a fairly nice, large place, a lot of my salary goes to my little sis and keeping her dietary needs off the radar, and my friend  hasn’t been pulling in the cash ever since he died.” Nia laughed again at Annie’s horrified face. “Relax, he’s a ghost, and I did not kill him. He came with the house! He’s also a writer- has an old easily-possessed typewriter that gets the job done. So what do you say, roommates?” For the second time that day, Nia extended her hand to Annie, this time with more of a question in her eyes.

Annie closed her own, hearing all the other conversations happening at once, smelling every order, feeling the wooden chair beneath her. And she imagined what it would be like to live with people who understood. To live in a place where once a month she could go down to the basement and know everyone in a 5 mile radius from her was safe for the night. She weighed that against moving in with a woman she barely knew in a new city, and made her decision.

“Roommates,” she said shaking Nia’s hand confidently.

**Author's Note:**

> More old writing from my creative writing class that I want to write more chapters for. Heck, you don't even meet Cedric Spencer, the ghost writer, in this yet.  
> I only realized when posting this that I never gave it a proper title, so right now I have a placeholder- and yes it's from that post about 'if you can't afford a dog and a girlfriend, I, a werewolf, am an excellent compromise'.  
> (Annie is a smol southern gay and I love her to DEATH)


End file.
